An Analysis of the effect of professional ethics on organizational performance and trust through the mediating role of ethical climate

پژوهش نامه مدیریت تحول

Article 2, Volume 11, Spring & summer 2019 - Serial Number 21, September 2019, Pages 27-56   

Document Type: Articles

DOI: 10.22067/pmt.v11i1.69484

Authors

Ghazaleh Taheri Attar; moein pourahmadi^* ; Masoud Herati

University of Tehran

Abstract

1- INTRODUCTION
Today, attention to professional ethics and its implications is one of the most fundamental research topics in the organizational field. Considering that professional ethics and ethical climate can affect the quality of organizational outcomes, the aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between professional ethics on organizational performance and trust by mediating role of the ethical climate in the Red Crescent Organization of Tehran Province.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Ethical behavior is one of the important issues of all organizations that can be affected by many factors, including intellectual capital. In organizations, what they know (intellectual capital) is more than what they are (material capital); on the other hand, organizations are increasingly engaging in ethical conundrum, the conditions that the professional ethics and existing ethical climate should be paid Special attention. stated that in the past two decades, extensive research has focused on the ethical climate of the organization, most notably by Coulen et al. Research on organizational ethical climate is relatively new and has attracted the attention of many researchers. In 2007, an investigation was conducted among managers of business, industrial and transportation company, which showed that the types of organizational ethical climate on various dimensions of job satisfaction (satisfaction with payment, promotion, co-workers, supervisor, and job) has a positive effect. Also, this research showed that organizational ethical climate types have a positive effect on different kinds of organizational commitment , organizational identity, involvement and loyalty. One of the consequences of behavioral and attitudinal outcomes resulting from ethical climate is job satisfaction, which is one of the most significant variables in the field of organizational psychology and management. job satisfaction refers to the general attitude of the individual about the job. In another study, Enayati and Hajji Zeinali's findings in 2013 showed that the status of organizational trust and work ethics is in a desirable level and there is a positive relationship between organizational trust and its components with work ethic. In the relationship between professional ethics and employee performance, some researches have recommended that, in order to improve knowledge management and employee engagement, it is necessary to focus on the establishment of ethical and professional workplaces. in another research, considered Expression of Organizational Existence and trust as factors involved in mental and physical health. The results showed that high levels of expression  Existence have a significant positive correlation with excessive work and a negative correlation Has a significant psychological and physical health. showed that the organizational climate directly and indirectly affects social capital and has a positive and significant effect on job performance also social capital has a positive and direct effect on Job performance. Also, indicated that the performance and the willingness to leave were affected by organizational ethical climate and its dimensions. So in this research, we examine these hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Professional ethics has a direct relationship with ethical climate.Hypothesis 2: Professional ethics has an indirect relationship with performance through ethical climate.
Hypothesis 3: Professional ethics has a direct relationship with organizational trust.hypothesis 4: Professional ethics has an indirect relationship with organizational trust through ethical climate.
hypothesis 5: Professional ethics has direct relationship with performance.
Hypothesis 6: The ethical climate has a direct relationship with organizational trust.hypothesis 7: The ethical climate has a direct relationship with performance.
3- METHODOLOGY
This research is an applied study in terms of its purpose and based on its method is descriptive. The population of this study was 470 employees of the Red Crescent Organization of Tehran that 198 employees were selected randomly as a statistical sample. Data were collected through questionnaires including ethical climate, organizational trust, organizational performance and professional ethics based on the Likert  5 range. in this study Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to test normal. Considering that the level of distribution of variables in the organization is more than 5%, the distribution is normal. in this research, Cronbach's alpha test was used to examine the reliability of the research toolAll structures have a Cronbach's Alpha higher than 0.7. To assess the validity of the questionnaire, content validity and exploratory factor analysis have been used . For statistical analysis of the relationships between research variables, Pearson correlation test and structural equation model were used by LISREL software.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
According to the results of the data analysis, the proposed model was approved which shows the results of the correlation between the variables. The least correlation belongs to the relationship between ethical climate and job performance. Therefore, any improvement in professional ethics can be accompanied by improvements in its implications: ethical climate, organizational trust, and job performance. It was found that the existence of professional ethics in employees has a positive relationship with job performance. This has been confirmed in other investigations. The findings also indicate that the relationship between professional ethics and organizational trust is positive and significant. Some studies have also evaluated this relationship positively. The weakness of the ethical system leads to a reduction in communications and an increase in organizational losses. In an organization such as the Red Crescent, a reduction in the level of employee trust can lead to multiple damage to other functional and behavioral dimensions. also, the results of the analysis show a positive and significant relationship between ethical climate and job performance; several studies confirm the same conclusion. It seems that when employees recognize ethical climate , they will understand the values ​​and ethical behaviors of an organization and will have better performance. Thus, the indirect relationship between professional ethics and performance through the mediating role of ethical climate is confirmed.
Findings show a positive and significant relationship between ethical climate and organizational trust. Some researchers also pointed to this in their research. Finally, it can be concluded that professional ethics with organizational trust are indirectly related by the mediating role of ethical climate.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The research also encountered some constraints such as conservatism , lack of motivation and  possibility of unrealistic responses of some respondents. regarding with practical suggestions it should be noted that ethical leaders should be used to create an ethical climate that leads to organizational ethics. In our organizations, since there is always a lack of organizational trust, the ethical climate and professional ethics of an organization have led to a climate of friendship so that trust can be built up. Also, given the importance of the subject, it is suggested that in future researches the relationship between adherence to professional ethics, ethical leadership in organizations, social acceptability of companies, and other similar issues are further considered, in order to be able to demonstrate the impact of ethics in management, The efficiency and effectiveness of companies, in addition to promoting the level of professional ethics and encouraging companies to be ethical, pursued standardization and approval of the necessary laws in this field more quickly and more easily.

Keywords

Professional ethics; Organizational performance; Organizational trust; ethical atmosphere

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